80s and 90s Androgyny

Who was androgynous during that time period, and why did it become "a thing" at that time, i.e., when the US and UK both had conservative governments? Was it a form or rebellion?
Who now exemplies this?

yes it was rebellion. you can't imagine how uptight and straight-laced everyone was in the 80s, especially coming off the hedonistic 60's and 70's, so being androgynous was a political statement that made people *very* uncomfortable. it simply can't be that kind of a statement today after 30 years of goth kids wearing eyeliner and rupauls drag race on TV. no one is shocked any longer. maybe bored.

[quote]Who was androgynous during that time period
Anne Lennox. Apparently when they came to the US, she had to submit to a medical test to prove she was female.

Think about what you just posted, r2. Just think about it.

Boy George
Grace Jones
the Dead or Alive guy
Almost everyone was borderline androgynous in the 80s, especially the men.

Anonymous

All those ugly hair band rocker guys.

I think it was because gayness was still sort of frowned upon...Boy George wasn't gay he was androgynous

Ralph Reed
Orrin Hatch

Thanks for the gnarly responses thus far.

OP

R3 There is nothing incorrect in what R2 posted. When Eurythmics first came to America, the authorities were uncertain of her gender, hence the test.

OP, I am a female and I was definitely androgynous. I think it was a reaction to all these creepy older men (hell, that could be 30yo at the time) leering at me. I had also just got back from Europe and saw it for the first time and I was fascinated- I was from a small town in the midwest. I loved the look- I wore make-up but it was theatrical. Of course I cut my hair very short and wore men's clothes, I had the thin, slim-hipped body type for it.
It is funny, because it is still a look that I am drawn to; I love to see hip, short androgynous hair cuts on beautiful women, as I do the broad-shouldered, slim-hipped look. I always love it when menswear is back in vogue.

Androgyny has always been a thing, but the 80s version of it didn't just happen. It was rooted in 70s glam rock, punk, New Wave, etc. You could even argue that the Warhol's drag queens were responsible for it.

It may have had something to do with the punk scene. Sex and romance was not really on the punk radar, and the emphasis and obsession with sex was rejected and often mocked. Fucking around with gender roles plays right into that mindset.

I agree R11, and don't forget the New York Dolls.

R10

The funny thing is that the androgyny wasn't just queer. Hair metal was all about hunting pussy and those bands, to quote Boy George, looked like a bunch of drunk housewives.

90s? OP, this was an 80s phenomenon.

Robert Smith was way fey, before his band took a darker Goth route.
Pete Burns; Marilyn; lead singer of Human League wore makeup (also Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran); Michael Jackson redid his face to match Brooke Shields; Jermaine Stewart; Sylvester; Divine; Rip Taylor; Richard Simmons.
It was a middle finger to Ronnie Raygun and Margaret Snatcher.

". you can't imagine how uptight and straight-laced everyone was in the 80s"
80s fashion was very androgynous. Women wore shoulder pads and men wore primary colors. Women and women alike cut their hair medium short, and stiffened it with product. Everyone wore acid-washed jeans, and the unisex Hammer pants.

"90s? OP, this was an 80s phenomenon."
I agree to some extent, R15. In the 80s, it seemed that it was a phenomenon among musicians but in the 90s, while musicians became grungy, actors became more androgynous. That is why I included 90s in the title.

OP

Which actors became androgynous in the 90s?
In the 80s it was a fashion/music movement. Google "New Romantics"; androgyny encompassed straight men (Duran Duran), gay men (Boy George et al) and women (Annie Lennox). It was a concerted push in popular culture in the early/mid 80s.